I bought the Athearn 4 car work train from an internet supplier. When it arrived, I noticed that the dates on the cars were around 1972-74. I model 1949.
Are these cars significantly different than those used in the late 40's?
73
Bruce in the Peg
Like this one?
Looks pretty generic to me. I'd take off the bulldozer - it looks pretty modern, but gons, tanks and flats don't change much.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yes exactly like that (only C&NW of course).
Shall I mutilate the reporting marks, say, by weathering?
Blind Bruce wrote: Yes exactly like that (only C&NW of course).Shall I mutilate the reporting marks, say, by weathering?
If you can change the 197x to 193x, and adjust the "new" (date of modification for work train service) and "repack" (journal maintenance) accordingly, you'll be good to go.
The reason I said 3 and not 4 was that I doubt that anyone was building cars for work train service during the WWII steel shortage.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Get one of those el cheapo Life Like construction sets with the crawler crane on it. Replace the bulldozer with the crane, put a gon on either side of the car with the crane, add the pilar crane car on either end, lose the tank car, add an engine and caboose and you have a decent model of a work train used to distribute or pick up track material. It would go along the railroad with a car load of rails or ties and unload them at various locations for the section gangs. A similar train would run behind a gang or in the spring, and pick up rails and metal off the right of way (car doors, bands, knuckles, drabars, brake rigging, lading fell out of cars, refrigerators, pallets, etc, etc).
If you have a half dozen or so gang outfit cars (boxcars with windows cut in them or old passenger cars) you can put the tank car in with them as a water car.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com